Edition Bobbett2. Speeches and statements by Elizabeth F. Bobbett

1938 Limerick, Farmers’ Meeting

Source: Limerick Leader, 10.12.1938

Miss Elizabeth F. Bobbett Secretary of the Irish Farmers’ Federation, asked were the farmers prepared to fight for their rights. There would not be such large gathering of farmers present if they had not grievances. They had been badly hit but many farmers had a false pride. Every farmer should join the Federation and fight for their common interests and help those who had been badly wounded in the economic war. Were the farmers in County Limerick prepared to join in an united effort to “Down Tools” if they did not get their demands? “I am told,” said Miss Bobbett, “that you will never get farmers to strike – that they would never stick together. You are losing money every day. Well, we’ll lose it for a month or two. We’ll sit down and do nothing.” She went on to say that they would have sufficient stock at home to keep them going and the people would soon realise that they were determined. Through the country she had seen the haycocks out in the fields and if the farmers had money they would have engaged labour to get in the hay. She believed that they were all agreed that they need not look to any of the political parties to save them. In the Federation it did not matter to which or any political party they belonged. Where was the farmer to get money to pay taxation? Evidence had been given on behalf of the farmers before the Banking Commission but not one word of the evidence was given in the report. They had been told about the Credit Corporation, but the general opinion about in was that one would need to have money in the bank to get anything out of the Credit Corporation (laughter). The losses to the farmers during the economic war amounted to about a million pounds. Ten million pounds could be given over to the farmers free of interest to put their industry in order. If the Government gave them the money they would put it into employment. There was great talk in the country at present about the deterioration of the land, but the people who spoke were probably thinking about the deterioration of their own pockets, because the farmers could not purchase. The Federation had been agitating for years but it did not get much publicity.

“In the event of our having to take up a strike are you prepared to sit at home and neither buy nor sell”? asked Miss Bobbett. (A Voice: Certainly.)